GB2198471A

GB2198471A - Key for a locking member

Info

Publication number: GB2198471A
Application number: GB08717773A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ivan Lee Robins
Original assignee: BRICKHOUSE DUDLEY Manufacturing
Current assignee: BRICKHOUSE DUDLEY Manufacturing
Priority date: 1986-12-06
Filing date: 1987-07-27
Publication date: 1988-06-15
Anticipated expiration: 2007-07-27
Also published as: GB2198471B; GB8717773D0; GB8629238D0

Abstract

In a combination of a key and a locking member (28, 128), the key (50) comprises a body (51) having a first co- operating formation (53) to engage with a corresponding second co-operating formation (131) of the locking member (128) to enable the locking member (128) to be moved between locked and unlocked conditions, a retaining member (56) mounted in or on the body (51) and movable relative to the body (51) into engagement with the locking member (128), at least when the first (53) and second (131) co-operating formations are engaged to maintain the first and second co- operating formations in engagement. As shown the retaining member (56) has a threaded end (57) which locates in a threaded bore (58). <IMAGE>

Description

Title: Key for a Locking member.

Description of Invention This invention relates to a combination of key and a locking member, and more particularly but not exclusively to a combination of a key and a locking member which locks a manhole cover or grating (hereinafter called a "cover") relative to a frame.

Still more preferably, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a combination of a key and a locking member for a cover of the type intended for providing access to inspection chambers and/or access to underground services such as pipes and the like, the cover normally being for use with a frame which is secured in the ground or to an inspection chamber, the cover closing the frame.

It is fairly frequent that such covers are used where unouthorised access is undesirable, for example removal of such a cover may give access to a potentially dangerous environment, such as high voltage cables and it is desirable to provide some means of preventing unauthorised access thereto, such as a locking member.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new or improved key.

According to one aspect of the invention we provide a combination of a key and a locking member, the key comprising a body having a first cooperating formation to engage with a corresponding second. co-operating formation of the locking member to enable the locking member to be moved between locked and unlocked conditions, a retaining member mounted in or on the body and movable relative to the body into engagement with the locking member, at least when the first and second co-operating formations are engaged to maintain the first and second co-operating formations in engagement.

Thus whereas with keys previously which have not been provided with such a retaining member, where the locking member is removable when unlocked for example, there has been the risk of the locking member becoming lost. In the present invention, the locking member is retained in engagement with the key thus reducing this problem.

Where the locking member is held captive when unlocked, the key will be locked relative to the article with which the locking member is held captive.

In both of these circumstances the invention facilitates operation of the locking member with the key, particularly in difficult working conditions.

Further, because the locking member can be retained by the retaining member with the first and second co-operating formations in engagement, use of the key to lock or unlock the locking member is facilitated, and less wear occurs between the key and the locking member.

The locking member may be of a type which is rotatable, preferably through more than 360 , to enable the locking member to be unlocked. For example the locking member may be male threaded and received in a female bore of an article.

The first or second co-operating formation may comprise a plurality of cut outs and the second or first cboperating formation respectively, a plurality of lugs spaced so as to be received in the cut outs.

Thus as the key is rotated, rotation will be imparted to the locking member to enable the locking member to be locked and unlocked.

The retaining member may comprise a threaded shank received in the body of the key. The shank may be threaded at least at the end adjacent to the first co-operating formation of the key and the locking member may have a threaded bore to receive the shank.

Thus prior to at least unlocking the locking member, by rotating the locking member, the locking member can be locked relative to the key by rotating the shank relative to the body of the key so that the thread of the shank engages with the threaded bore of the locking member, to retain the first and second co-operating formations in engagement. The shank may project from the body at the end remote from the first co-operating formation and may have a hand engagable portion to facilitate rotation of the locking member relative to the body of the key.

Preferably the shank is held captive relative to the body, and means may be provided to limit the extent to which the shank can be screwed into the threaded bore of the locking member so as to prevent damage occurring to the locking member through over tightening.

The combination is particularly applicable for unlocking a locking member received in a passageway of a cover and frame assembly of the type having a latching element, access to which is via the passageway which is closed by the locking member.

The key may therefore have a further portion extending from the body for operating the latching element. For example the body and the further portion may be substantially at right angles, in a generally T formation, although other configurations may be possible. The T formation is preferred because the body of the locking member can be used as a lever when operating the further portion to release the latching element, and the further portion can be used as a lever for locking and unlocking the locking member.

Preferably the shank which projects outwardly of the body at a position remote from the first co-operating formation extends beyond the manually engagable portion. This extended part can be used for example for lifting any weather cover or the like which may be provided in the cover, over the locking member.

According to a second aspect of the invention we provide a key for a combination according to the first aspect of the invention.

According to a third aspect of the invention we provide a locking member for a combination according to the first aspect of the invention.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE I is a sectional view through a cover of a cover and frame assembly having a locking member of a combination in accordance with the present invention; FIGURE 2 is a schematic view showing the latching element of the cover of figure 1 in a latching position and in broken outline in a release position; FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the head of the closure member; FIGURE 4 is diagrammatic sectional view showing a key and a locking member of a combination in accordance with the present invention, with part of a modified cover and frame assembly.

Referring first to Figure 1, an access cover is generally indicated at 10 and may be made from any suitable material, for example steel, cast iron, stainless steel or a combination of such materials and in some installations may be made from a combination of plastics and metallic materials.

The access cover 10 closes a frame-like surround, part of which is generally indicated at 11. The cover 10 is formed with or has secured thereto a tube-like member 12 providing a passageway 13. The tube-like member 12 if secured to the access cover I 0, is secured in a manner where it is not movable relative thereto.

The tube-like member 12 carries at its lower end 14 a pair of plate members I Sa, I 5b, one of which is shown in Figure I at 15a, and the other 15b is secured to the tube-like member 12 diametrically opposite so as to form a channel.

A sleeve-like member ló is positioned around the tube-like member 12 and is of a dimension whereby at least limited rotational movement about the longitudinal axes of the tube-like member 12 and sleeve 16 are possible, the sleeve 16 being maintained in position on the tube-like member 12 by the provision of plate-like member 16a secured thereto or formed integrally therewith which bears, preferably through a bearing member (not shown), on the upper surfaces of the pair of plates, one of which is shown at ISa, secured to the tube-like member 12.

The plate-like member 16a has two spaced apart downwardly depending members, one of which is shown at 17, the other being diametrically opposite and which can be seen at 18 in Figure 2.

Extending between the plates 17 and 18 is a rod 19 to which is pivotally mounted a locking bar 20. Pivotal movement of the locking bar 20 about the rod 19 is limited because an upper surface of an end region 21 abuts with the lower of the tube-like member 12 in one direction and in the other direction a lower surface of the end region 21 abuts with a stop member 22.

The locking bar 20 is of a dimension so that it may be accommodated at least partially between plates 15a and I Sb.

The plate member 16a not only has downwardly dependina side plates 17 and 18 but also is provided with a latching element 23 adapted to extend under a part 24 of the frame II.

When the latching element 23 extends under the part 24 of the frame I I, removal of the access cover from its frame is not possible.

The tube-like member 12 has an enlarged region 26 at an upper end on which is formed a female thread 27. A locking member 28 is formed with a corresponding male thread form so that it may be threadedly engaged within the enlarged region 26 of passageway 1 3.

As can be seen from figure 3, the locking member 28 is formed with a substantially flush upper surface having three cut-outs 29, 30 and 31 so that engagement and rotational movement of the locking member 28 is possible only with a special key.

The number of cut-outs 29, 30, 31 and their position may be specially suited so that if desired a number of different access covers may be released by the same key.

The upper end of the passageway 13 may be closed if desired by a plug 35.

In order to release the access cover 10, first of all the plug 35 is removed, a special key, described hereinafter with reference to figure 4, is engaged with locking member 28 enabling it to be removed from the passageway 13.

A release member which may be integral with the key as in the version shown in figure 5 or separate therefrom may be inserted through passageway 13 until a transverse member 38 provided on the locking bar 20 is positioned in a slot provided in a head portion of the release member.

Downward movement of the release member will move the end 21 of the locking bar in a downwards direction thus moving the end 21 of the locking bar out of the channel formed by fixed plates 15a and 15b. Rotation of the release member will then cause rotation of the sleeve element 16, together with associated plate 16, latching element 23 and locking bar 20, so that the latching element 23 may be moved out of engagement with part 24 of the frame II to the position as shown in broken outline in Figure 2. The access cover 10 may then be removed from its associated frame.

To replace the access cover in position, the cover 10 is first placed in position in its surrounding frame, and the release member is again inserted through the passageway 13 to a position where upon being rotated the latch element 23 once again engages under the frame part 24.

The locking bar 20 will take up a position as shown in bold outline in Figure I, under gravity.

When the latch is securely in position, the release member may be removed, and the locking member 28 is then screwed into its locked position closing the passageway 13, using the key, and the plug 35 is replaced.

Referring now to Figure 4, a manhole cover and frame assembly 100 is substantially the same as that shown in Figures I to 3, but a top plate 101 of the cover has a hinged weather plate 102 which conceals a passageway 113 which extends to a latching mechanism below (identical to that shown in Figures I to 3).

A locking member 128 closes the passageway 113 to prevent access to the latching mechanism until the locking member 128 is removed.

A space between the passageway 113 and the cover 100 is closed by a sub plate 104 which is welded in position beneath the cover 101.

A key is shown at 50 and comprises a body Sl which is adapted at one end 52 thereof to engage with the locking member 128. Thus whereas the locking member 128 has a plurality of cutouts 131, the end 52 of the key has a corresponding number of downwardly extending lugs 53 to engage with the cutouts 131. Thus as the body 51 is rotated, rotation is imparted to the locking member 128 which closes the passageway 113, to enable the locking member 128 to be moved between locked and unlocked conditions.

The configuration of the cutouts and lugs of the locking member 128 can be more clearly appreciated from Figure 3, as the locking member 28 of the Figures 1 to 3 version is substantially the same as the locking member 128 of figure 4.

Extending generally at right angles to the body 51 of the key 50 is a further portion 54 which is adapted at its end 55 furthermost from the body 51 to engage with the latching mechanism at the bottom of passageway 113 (and passageway 1 3 in figures I to 3).

Within the body 51 is mounted a retaining member 56 which comprises a shank which is threaded as shown at 57 at one end, adjacent to the end 52 of the body 51. The shank 56 is rotatable relative to the body 51 to enable the shank 56 to be engaged with a threaded bore 58 provided in the locking member 128. It will be appreciated that before the lugs 53 can engage with the cutouts 131, and before the shank 56 and threaded bore 58 can be engaged, the weather plate 102 needs to be hinged to its open position. The shank 56 at its end remote from the threaded end 57 has a spike 60 which can be used to move the weather plate 102 to its open position. Thereafter, the formations 1 3 1 and 53 can be engaged.The threaded shank 56 can then be engaged with the threaded bore 128 by rotating the shank 56 using manually engageable portions 62 if necessary so that the locking member 128 will become locked relative to the key 50. When the two are locked together, the key 50 can be rotated to enable the threaded locking member 1 28 to be unlocked and hence removed from the passageway 113.

It will be noted that within the end 52 of the body 51, a nut 64 is provided, so that the threaded shank 57 cannot be screwed into the bore 58 of the locking member 128 to an extent such as to damage the locking member 128. Thus the amount to which the threaded shank 57 can be inserted is limited by the nut 64. Further, a welded bead 65 is provided interiorially of the body 51 on the shank 56 in order to maintain the shank 56 captive within the body 51.

It will be appreciated that when using end 55 to release the latch mechanism of the cover and frame assembly, the body 51 can be used as a lever because of the T formation of the key. Conversely, when the key 50 is used for unlocking (or locking) the locking member 128 (or locking member 28), the further portion 54 can be used as a lever to facilitate locking and unlocking of the member 128 (28).

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, in the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, or a class or group of substances or compositions, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

I. A combination of a key and a locking member, the key comprising a body having a first co-operating formation to engage with a corresponding second co-operating formation of the locking member to enable the locking member to be moved between locked and unlocked conditions, a retaining member mounted in or on the body and movable relative to the body into engagement with the locking member, at least when the first and second cooperating formations are engaged to maintain the first and second cooperating formations in engagement.
2. A combination according to claim I wherein the locking member is of the type which is rotatable, to enable the locking member to be unlocked.
3. A combination according to claim 2 wherein the locking member is male threaded and received in a female bore of an article.
4. A combination according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first or second co-operating formation comprises a plurality of cut outs and the second or first co-operating formation respectively, a plurality of lugs spaced so as to be received in the cut outs.
5. A combination according to any one of claims I to 4 wherein the retaining member comprises a threaded shank received in the body of the key.
6. A combination according to claim 5 wherein the shank is threaded at least at the end adjacent to the first co-operating formation of the key and the locking member has a threaded bore to receive the shank.
7. A combination according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the shank projects from the body at an end remote from the first co-operating formation and has a hand engageable portion to facilitate rotation of the locking member relative to the body of the key.
8. A combination according to claim 5 or claim 6 or claim 7 wherein the shank is held captive relative to the body.
9. A combination according to any one of claims 5 to 8 wherein means are provided to limit the extent to which the shank can be screwed into the threaded bore of the locking member.
10. A combination according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the locking member is, in use, received in a passageway of a cover and frame assembly of the type having a latching element, access to which is via the passageway which is closed by the locking member.
II. A combination according to claim 10 wherein the key has a further portion extending from the body for operating the latching element.
12. A combination according to claim II wherein the body and the further portion are generally at right angles, in a generally T formation.
1 3. A combination according to any one of claims 10 to 13 where appendant to claim 7 wherein the shank which projects outwardly of the body at a position remote from the first co-operating formation extends beyond the manually engageable portion.
14. A combination of a key and locking member substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
15. A key for a combination according to any one of the preceding claims.
16. A locking member for a combination according to any one of claims I to 14.
17. Any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein and/or shown in the accompanying drawings.